Qatar has agreed to cancel surplus LNG cargoes, prompting the federal government to decide to reopen shut domestic gas fields from January 2026, sources in the Ministry of Petroleum said.

The move will allow locally produced gas to start flowing back into the national system from January, after fields were earlier closed to accommodate surplus imported LNG.

Officials said domestic gas fields had been shut to make room for excess LNG cargoes that could not be absorbed by the power sector, resulting in imported gas being injected into pipelines instead.

According to the sources, around 200 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of local gas production was suspended due to surplus LNG supplies.

To prevent damage to gas pipelines caused by overloading, local fields were closed while surplus LNG was fed into the system.

Under the revised arrangement, Pakistan will import 85 LNG cargoes from Qatar in 2026 instead of the originally planned 120.

Overall, 35 LNG cargoes will be cancelled, leading to estimated savings of Rs201 billion, the sources said.